Del Monte is recalling hundreds of green apples that contain a dangerous food poisoning bacteria.

Del Monte Fresh Produce has issued a voluntary recall of more than 750 packages of Granny Smith green apples contaminated with a dangerous bacterial organism. The bacteria, known as listeria monocytogenes, attacks the immune systems of children, elderly and sick people.

While the bacteria only cause mild symptoms in healthy individuals, listeria monocytogenes exposure can lead to stillbirths, miscarriages and death.

Recall Details

Pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and the sick are most vulnerable to Listeriosis because these populations have the weakest immune systems.
Image: All Posters

The Granny Smith green apples may either be boxed in a package of 8 or wrapped in clear plastic bags containing 6 apples each. The recall includes 695 boxes and 67 plastic-wrapped bundles.

From Oct. 1 to Oct. 12, the packages were sold to Coremark and 7-Eleven in the Mountain States region. They were sold in convenience stores in  Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. The fruit are often sold individually.

Symptoms of listeria monocytogenes infections include high fever, severe headache, stuffiness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Long-term effects include miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women and death of individuals with weakened immune systems.

Del Monte has not received reports of illnesses linked to the contamination. A consumer discovered the presence of bacteria after conducting microbial testing on raw apples.

Recall Solution

Although the recall is precautionary, Del Monte urges consumers to contact the company for a full refund.
Image: LinkedIn

If you purchased packages of Del Monte’s Granny Smith green apples at the beginning of October, your products might be affected by this recall. The FDA urges consumers to throw out products that may be contaminated with the bacteria.

While retailers have been told to remove the products from store shelves, consumers may contact Del Monte Fresh Produce for a refund.

Contact Del Monte via phone at 1-800-659-6500 or email the company at Contact-US-Executive-Office@freshdelmonte.com.

The post Food Safety Recall: Del Monte Granny Smith Apples Linked To Bacterial Infection appeared first on Citizens Report.

Alexis Benter

U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin said that it could take decades and cost millions of dollars in fees to try the more than 70,000 transvaginal mesh lawsuits that have been filed against seven pharmaceutical companies. Goodwin has urged the device makers and the claimants to work harder to resolve one of the biggest U.S. mass torts in history, but has vowed to send the suits to trial if need be.

Thousands of women have claimed the transvaginal mesh devices, which are used to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, have caused painful infections, bleeding and other complications.

Your Legal Help

Intensive court-supervised meetings between key defendants Boston Scientific Corp, C.R. Bard and Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Inc. and lawyers for the women have led to no resolutions.

Bard, Ethicon and Boston Scientific have had the most claims filed against them, and have each been hit with multimillion dollar verdicts that have increased the pressure to settle. The companies, however, are standing behind their devices, denying all claims that they are defective. Lawyers for the three main companies are ready to prepare hundreds of additional cases for trial if need be.

Not all of the device makers are pushing for trials. American Medical Systems, a subsidiary of Endo International Plc, has already decided to settle, setting aside $1.6 billion to resolve 20,000 lawsuits. Danish company Coloplast A/S has also settled a sizeable amount of the nearly 2,000 mesh lawsuits brought against it.

If you or a loved one has suffered from infection, bleeding, or other side effects of a transvaginal mesh device, you may be able to seek medical compensation. Click here to receive a free case evaluation.

The post U.S. District Judge Says it Could Take Decades to Try Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuits appeared first on Citizens Report.

Alexis Benter

The military hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone, conducted a controlled clinical trial in which 35 ebola patients received blood transfusions from donors who survived the disease. Though comparisons with the control arm of the study are not currently available, officials reported that 80 percent of the blood recipients lived. In a nation where the survival rate for the disease is below 50 percent, this is absolutely something to cheer about.

Could Antibody Proteins Block the Virus?

Proponents of the blood transfusion tactic believe that antibody proteins, which are slowly produced by the immune system, are most likely responsible for blocking the ebola virus in the weeks following infection. The treatment is particularly promising because blood plasma contains these antibodies. Since plasma can be donated more frequently than blood, this bodes well for patients in need. In addition, the tactic could potentially save more lives because the donated plasma can be stored for long periods of time.

Blood Treatments Prove Vital for Future Outbreaks

Though the initial findings are very promising, the blood plasma treatments will not have a significant impact in this current outbreak’s death toll, which has climbed past 9,253 individuals. However, these treatments will prove vital for future ebola outbreaks.

WordPress

Another benefit of the blood treatment is that it is essentially owned by the countries themselves. The medical industries won’t have to endure the headaches that come with paying high prices of buying pharmaceuticals from Big Pharma.

“The countries really liked the blood option more than the drugs because there is no manufacturer behind it and no international regulatory approvals required,” says David Wood, a virologist at the World Health Organization.

Despite the benefits, the blood transfusion tactic is not yet ready to be implemented on a massive scale. At the blood bank headquarters in Freetown, donor blood is stored in a rusted refrigerator, and lab technicians enter vital data on outdated computers. There is also the threat of blood spoiling from unreliable electricity.

Thankfully, the World Bank granted $200,000 to the Sierra Leonean blood trial, and several other donors committed more than $3.3 million to the plasma studies. A portion of this budget will go toward the purchase of medical equipment, refrigerators and infrastructure. Professionals are hopeful that the blood transfusion tactic will one day put an end to the ebola virus for good.

The post Blood Transfusions Potential Cure for Ebola appeared first on Citizens Report.

Uterus Fibroids Surgery Side Effects

Although generally quite safe, uterus fibroids surgery side effects include excessive bleeding, pelvic pain, discomfort during sex, infection and abscess. Bleeding can persist for weeks or even months after an abdominal surgery such as a myomectomy – which removes the fibroids themselves – or even longer in the case of a hysterectomy – which removes the uterus entirely. A full recovery from a hysterectomy can take up to a year and can be accompanied by heavy bleeding. For premenopausal women who intend to have children, the most serious uterus fibroids surgery side effect is infertility. Loss of fertility can occur even after a successful myomectomy. Complications during a myomectomy, such as uncontrollable blood loss, can make a total hysterectomy necessary.

The risks and long recovery times associated with abdominal fibroid removal surgery led to the development of the less invasive laparoscopic technique, although this option is not suited for all women. Laparoscopic surgery removes fibroids using a long, thin tube called a laparoscope, inserted into the uterus either through small incisions in the abdomen or via the vagina. Not all uterus fibroids can be treated by laparoscopy; however, a hysterectomy may be necessary depending on the size and location of the fibroids.

Hormone therapy can shrink fibroids enough to make a myomectomy feasible and thereby preserve fertility.

Uterus Fibroids Surgery Cancer

The many uterus fibroid surgery side effects led to the development of new procedures that were billed as safer and faster. However, the FDA has sounded the alarm about the dangers of uterus fibroid surgery cancer posed by a new fibroid removal technique.

Laparoscopic power morcellation has the potential to unleash dormant cancer cells present in fibroids. According to an FDA study, about 1 in 350 women who undergo this fibroid surgery risk developing a leiomyosarcoma, which is a cancer of smooth muscle tissue that can spread throughout the body. Once spread, most leiomyosarcomas are inoperable and fatal.

It is clear that this type of fibroid surgery risks cancer. Some doctors and hospitals have already stopped using laparoscopic power morcellation, and patients who developed cancer as a uterus fibroid surgery side effect after undergoing this procedure are preparing lawsuits against the manufacturers of the devices used.

Side Effect Victims

Women who developed Uterine Cancer, Stomach Cancer or Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) after undergoing Fibroid Removal or a Hysterectomy may be eligible for compensation. Don’t let your valuable legal rights expire – request a free case review by visiting:

Click here to receive your free case evaluation.

The post Side Effects of Uterus Fibroids Surgery appeared first on Citizens Report.